2 Florida Congressmen Named To House Probe

December 18, 1986|By KEN CUMMINS, Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON -- U.S. Reps. Dante Fascell and Bill McCollum of Florida on Wednesday were named to the special 15-member committee formed to conduct the House investigation into secret Iranian arms sales and possible diversion of profits to Nicaragua`s Contra rebels.

Fascell, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, will serve as vice chairman of the House select committee on the Iran-Contra affair, which will operate separately from the special Senate investigative committee appointed Tuesday.

Rep. Lee Hamilton, D-Ind., chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, was named chairman of the special House panel, while Sen. Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, will head the 11-member Senate select committee.

Fascell, D-Miami, said in an interview after his appointment that it was premature to talk about immunity for Lt. Col. Oliver North and Vice Admiral John Poindexter, the two former National Security Council officials who are at the center of the controversy.

``I don`t think the whole story is out there yet,`` said the 69-year-old congressman, now entering his 33rd year in the House.

``I read a news story somewhere that said we know 95 percent of what happened,`` Fascell said. ``In order to assess that you are at 95 percent, you have to know what the 100 percent is. I sure don`t.``

McCollum, R-Altamonte Springs, appeared to be leaning toward granting limited immunity to North and Poindexter, as President Reagan has requested, to get the story before the public as quickly as possible.

``My gut reaction is, we`ve got to get to the bottom of this,`` said McCollum, a six-year member of the House. ``If crimes were committed, that`s secondary to correcting deficiencies.``

The 42-year-old McCollum, who is considerably younger than most of the members of the select committee, first gained national recognition in 1983 when he organized airlifts of privately donated medical supplies to refugees in El Salvador. McCollum spokeswoman Sophia Nash said he may have been picked for the select committee because of his role in the airlifts, which she said eventually delivered $4 million worth of medical supplies.

Three of the nine Democrats on the House select committee and all six of its Republican members voted last summer to send $100 million in aid to the Contra rebels beginning Oct. 1. Fascell and McCollum supported the renewal of aid to the Contras, which had been cut off by Congress in 1984.

The appointment of Hamilton to head the Iran-Contra inquiry raised concerns that much of the House select committee`s work would be conducted behind closed doors, similar to the procedures of the House Intelligence Committee, which Hamilton has chaired the past two years.

But Fascell said he would push for keeping the hearings open to the public.

PANEL MEMBERS

LEE HAMILTON, D-Ind.: A 55-year-old lawyer, he was first elected to Congress in 1964. Hamilton is ending a two-year term as chairman of the House Intelligence Committee and continues as chairman of the House Foreign Affairs subcommittee on Europe and the Middle East. He served on the House Ethics Committee during its 1978 investigation of improper South Korean congressional lobbying efforts.

DANTE FASCELL, D-Fla.: The vice chairman of the panel is chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and has served in the House since 1955. An Army officer in WWII, Fascell, 69, served in the African, Sicilian and Italian campaigns.

THOMAS FOLEY, D-Wash.: Foley, 57, has a reputation as a thoughtful, even- handed leader. He represents the Spokane area and concentrated in his earlier years on agricultural issues. As his focus has shifted to national issues, he has retained solid backing in his district.

PETER RODINO, D-N.J.: Chairman of House Judiciary Committee, Rodino, 77, was little known outside New Jersey until his Judiciary Committee was thrust into the spotlight when it voted to bring several impeachment charges against President Nixon during the Watergate investigation.

JACK BROOKS, D-Texas: Chairman of the watchdog Government Operations Committee, Brooks, 63, has developed a reputation for tracking down cases of governmental mismanagement.

LES ASPIN, D-Wis.: He became chairman of House Armed Services Committee in 1985 after engineering the ouster of the aging chairman Melvin Price, D- Ill. Aspin, 48, has been a key figure in congressional negotiations with the administration on the MX missile.

LOUIS STOKES, D-Ohio: Former chairman of the House Ethics Committee, Stokes, 61, is expected to be the new chairman of the House Intelligence Committee. He is a past chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus.

ED BOLAND, D-Mass.: Author of the ``Boland amendment`` that last year prohibited aid to the Nicaraguan Contras, Boland, 75, is the former chairman of the House Intelligence Committee.

ED JENKINS, D-Ga.: A longtime member of the Ways and Means and Budget Committees, Jenkins, 53, is a champion of the textile industry but is also known as a hard worker on other issues.